History of Major League Base Ball (revised)

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MILWAUKEE CREAM CITYS

1877 Finish: new team
1878 Prediction: 4th place

Some observers suggest Milwaukee could actually be a competitive team this season, and they do indeed have top pitching (1877 Creighton Award winner Sam Weaver) as well as some excellent hitting. If they happen to sign either of the two top players who remain as free agents - Lip Pike or Dan Collins - they might be actually be able to take on the existing teams. Their projected starting players:

C - Deacon White (.295 with Hartford in 1877)
1b - Jim Devlin (.351 with Louisville in 1877)
2b - Jimmy Wood (.369 with Louisville in 1877)
ss - John Peters (.229 with Chicago in 1877)
3b - Will Foley (.240 with Fort Wayne in 1877)
lf - Abner Dalrymple (rookie)
cf - Jack Remsen (.251 with Quincy in 1877)
rf - Joe Ellick (.244 with Peoria in 1877)

p - Sam Weaver (17-13, 2.37 with Cincinnati in 1877)
p - Mike Golden (2-0, 3.00 with Boston in 1877)

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CINCINNATI REDS

1877 Finish: 29-28, 3rd place
1878 Prediction: 3rd place

Cincinnati is basically the same team they were last year, absent star pitcher Sam Weaver, which is a big loss. At some point this season they may add star catching prospect King Kelly, and of course they are potentially one Dan Collins signing away from contending. Their projected starting players:

C - Bill Craver (.268 in 1877)
1b - Cap Anson (.291 in 1877)
2b - Mike McGeary (.249 in 1877)
ss - John Bass (.296 in 1877)
3b - Bob Ferguson (.257 in 1877)
lf - Charley Jones (.294 in 1877)
cf - Jim Holdsworth (.269 in 1877)
rf - John McMullin (.261 in 1877)

p - Hugh O'Neil (1-2, 4.09 in 1877)
p - Bobby Mitchell (9-11, 3.43 in 1877)

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BOSTON RED STOCKINGS

1877 Finish: 30-30, 4th place
1878 Prediction: 2nd place

The former dynasty seems to have fallen on bad times, but it's not completely clear why. They still have most of their star players from earlier in the 1870s. Furthermore, unlike the other established clubs they did not lose any significant players in the offseason. This gives them an opportunity to get back to the top of the league, and here at Reach we are predicting they will fall just a bit short. Their projected starting players:

C - Cal McVey (.397 in 1877)
1b - Al Spalding (.332 in 1877)/John Morrill (.286 in 1877)
2b - Ross Barnes (.336 in 1877)
ss - George Wright (.345 in 1877)
3b - Fred Waterman (.208 in 1877)
lf - Jim O'Rourke (.264 in 1877)
cf - Frank McCarton (.295 in 1877)
rf - Ed Pinkham (.261 in 1877)

p - Bobby Mathews (7-9, 2.79 in 1877)
p - Al Spalding (16-9, 3.20 in 1877)

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CHICAGO WHITE STOCKINGS

1877 Finish: 37-22, 1st place
1878 Prediction: 1st place

Chicago's main competition for the 1877 pennant is gone, and the White Stockings were substantially ahead of Boston and Cincinnati. It seems like they should be far ahead of the competition. However, they lost superstar catcher Dick Higham, center fielder Paul Hines and infielder John Peters in the offseason, and Reach projects a very close race between Chicago, Boston, Cincinnati and maybe even Milwaukee this season. Their projected starting players:

C - Bill Harbridge (.263 with Hartford in 1877)
1b - Jim Foran (.324 in 1877)
2b - Andy Leonard (.310 with Hartford in 1877)
ss - Davy Force (.325 in 1877)
3b - Levi Meyerle (.351 in 1877)
lf - Jim Tipper (.377 in 1877)
cf - Holly Hollingshead (.247 with Hartford in 1877)
rf - George Hall (.337 in 1877)

p - Asa Brainard (18-12, 3.12 in 1877)
p - Harry Arundel (2-1, 2.57 in 1877)

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May 1, 1878
Milwaukee Cream Citys (0-0) at Cincinnati Reds (0-0)

This season we'll look in on all the opening games for the National League and that begins in Cincinnati as they host Milwaukee, whose starting pitcher is the former Cincinnati ace Sam Weaver.

Sam Weaver pitched a great game, giving up only one run on three hits and striking out an amazing nine Reds. Meanwhile, rookie Abner Dalrymple, who was making his major league debut, had two hits and scored the game's first two runs and also threw a man out at home plate.

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May 1, 1878
Chicago White Stockings (0-0) at Indianapolis Blues (0-0)

The defending champions open in the National League's smallest city against what appears to be its weakest team. It shouldn't be much of a contest, but one never knows.

It turned out to be a close contest but one with the expected result. 36-year-old star pitcher Asa Brainard of Chicago got the win and new catcher Bill Harbridge got the key hit for the champions.

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May 1, 1878
Boston Red Stockings (0-0) at Providence Grays (0-0)

The last of the three Opening Day games on May 1 saw the two New England teams battle in Providence. The starting pitchers for the game were Boston's Bobby Mathews, age 26 with 90 career wins, and Providence's John Montgomery Ward, age 18 with 0 career wins.

Providence looked good early in this game, but ultimately Boston came back to get the late win, making it two out of three wins for the established clubs on Opening Day.

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May 2, 1878
Milwaukee Cream Citys (1-0) at Cincinnati Reds (0-1)

Milwaukee's team got a whole lot better since yesterday, as they signed star pitcher Dan Collins to team up with Sam Weaver, giving the Cream Citys an outstanding pitching 1-2 punch. Today, this is the only game taking place, so the brand new club has a chance to take the sole National League lead, however briefly.

Collins did not pitch well and Cincinnati came away with the win even though Milwaukee made a late comeback. It also bears mentioning that Abner Dalrymple got five hits in his second major league game.

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May 4, 1878
Providence Grays (0-1) at Boston Red Stockings (1-0)

The Red Stockings won their first game and now they have another matchup with Providence in the fight to take the early National League lead.

This time the game went better for Providence, as John Montgomery Ward picked up his first career win.

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May 4, 1878
Chicago White Stockings (1-0) at Indianapolis Blues (0-1)

With Boston's loss, Chicago had a chance to pull (possibly momentarily) into the sole National League lead with a win.

There were a couple dueling comebacks, as Chicago scored four runs to pull ahead of Indianapolis, then Indy scored the big tying run and went on to win it in extra innings.

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May 6, 1878
Chicago White Stockings (1-1) at Indianapolis Blues (1-1)

On a Monday afternoon, these two western clubs close out their series today. The winner of this game will close the day in a tie with Cincinnati at the top of the National League.

The Blues jumped out to a 6-0 lead, then Chicago came roaring back and... almost were able to catch up.

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May 7, 1878
Chicago White Stockings (1-2) at Cincinnati Reds (2-1)

Early in the season, the NL is still waiting for a team to emerge as the top club. Just before the game, Cincinnati promoted top prospect King Kelly to the big league club and he could make his major league debut at any point.

There was no debut for Kelly this afternoon, as Cincinnati and Chicago played a close, tightly-contested game, but one where the Reds got a narrow victory to put them in sole possession of first place.

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May 9, 1878
Chicago White Stockings (1-3) at Cincinnati Reds (3-1)

The Reds have opened up the slightest of leads early in the NL season, and in this game they are fighting to maintain that lead. This time, top prospect King Kelly will make his major league debut as the Reds' starting catcher.

The champions were able to bounce back from their slow start to get the win. The Reds scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to make things close but that was it.

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May 10, 1878
Milwaukee Cream Citys (1-3) at Indianapolis Blues (3-1)

With Cincinnati's loss and an Indianapolis win over Milwaukee, the unheralded Blues now have a slight lead in the National League. Now it's the Blues who have a chance to open up a bit of a lead on the competition. However, following their loss on the 9th, Milwaukee signed 1877 MVP Lip Pike to play right field, which immediately makes them look like potential contenders.

It was another big game for Abner Dalrymple, and Milwaukee got a solid win in the game.

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May 11, 1878
Providence Grays (2-1) at Boston Red Stockings (1-2)

Nearly two weeks into the season, the National League is a muddle - only game separates the top from the bottom clubs in the standings. We've looked at some of the other early matchups - now it's time to see the Providence-Boston battle.

The top of the Providence order went wild in this game, with John Hatfield, Tom York and Everett Mills combining for ten hits, as Boston's struggles continued.

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Sunday, May 12, 1878
Standings and Leaders

Providence Grays 3-1
Milwaukee Cream Citys 3-3
Chicago White Stockings 3-3
Indianapolis Blues 3-3
Cincinnati Reds 3-3
Boston Red Stockings 1-3

It's still very much a muddle this early in the season. However, one thing that seems to be increasingly true is that Boston seems to be falling from its perch as a top contender. Despite having some of baseball's biggest stars - George Wright, Ross Barnes, Cal McVey, Al Spalding - they have never won a National League pennant and are being outplayed by the brand new club from Providence.

The league leaders:

Batting Average

George Hall, Chicago - .519
Andy Leonard, Chicago - .500
Tom York, Providence - .500
Frank McCarton, Boston - .375
Abner Dalrymple, Milwaukee - .367
Jim Holdsworth, Cincinnati - .364
Bill Craver, Cincinnati - .350

Runs Scored

Abner Dalrymple, Milwaukee - 7
George Hall, Chicago - 6
Jim Holdsworth, Cincinnati - 6
Andy Leonard, Chicago - 6
Ezra Sutton, Indianapolis - 6
7 players tied with 5 each

Runs Batted In

Jimmy Wood, Milwaukee - 9
Ezra Sutton, Indianapolis - 8
Dick Higham, Providence - 6
John Clapp, Indianapolis - 5
Jim Foran, Chicago - 5
5 players tied with 4 each

Stolen Bases

John McMullin, Cincinnati - 5
John Clapp, Indianapolis - 3
Paul Hines, Providence - 3
7 players tied with 2 each

Won-Loss Record

John Montgomery Ward, Providence, 3-1
The Only Nolan, Indianapolis, 2-1
Asa Brainard, Chicago, 2-2
Hugh O'Neil, Cincinnati, 2-2
Jim Britt, Milwaukee, 1-0
4 players tied at 1-1 each

Earned Run Average

Jim Britt, Milwaukee - 0.00
Harry Arundel, Chicago - 1.06
John Montgomery Ward, Providence - 1.54
Dan Collins, Milwaukee - 1.80
The Only Nolan, Indianapolis - 1.93
Asa Brainard, Chicago - 2.08
Hugh O'Neil, Cincinnati - 3.00

Strikeouts

Sam Weaver, Milwaukee - 21
Hugh O'Neil, Cincinnati - 14
Bobby Mathews, Boston - 13
John Montgomery Ward, Providence - 10
The Only Nolan, Indianapolis - 9
Asa Brainard, Chicago - 8
Jim Britt, Milwaukee - 4

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In my league, Bill Harbridge was Hartford's alternate catcher in 1875 and 1877, and was their starter in 1876. He joined Chicago in the 1877-78 offseason after their star Dick Higham joined the new Providence club. The thinking was that moving from Higham to Harbridge would be an enormous downgrade, but so far Harbridge has played quite well - he's hitting .300 and playing excellent defense.

In reality Harbridge gets a lot of attention as one of the few left-handed catchers in baseball history, and not for much else - he was a career .247 hitter who bounced around with a lot of teams in the late 1870s and early 1880s. He didn't have a long reputation in baseball. From Nemec:

The press sometimes referred to him as "Yeller Bill," but teammates called him "Parrot Toes" because of his mincing gait. By the late 1880s he was out of the game and soon was almost completely forgotten. In July 1892 The Sporting News recalled: "Harbridge was always known for his gaseous qualities. His wonderful know-it-all letters to Sporting Life stamped him as a thorough windbag." Already 90 percent of the paper's readership had no notion whom the subject under discussion was.

A big [Citation Needed] for that last assertion, but whatever. Honestly, the Nemec entry on Harbridge is sort of weird. It goes on to suggest that he's also been forgotten by modern researchers, who often incorrectly list him as the first left-handed catcher. (Wouldn't that be a reason the other guys were forgotten rather than Harbridge?)

Evidently he went by both the last name Harbidge and Harbridge pretty much interchangeably, and Nemec's biography does add the amusing note that his tombstone has one spelling and his death certificate has the other. As a poor hitter who doesn't seem to have been regarded as a top defensive catcher either, he was out of baseball by the late 1880s, and worked construction later in his life.

I'm wondering whether Harbridge might have gotten a ratings boost in my league. (I play with ratings off so it's not something I can check without turning them on, which I am reluctant to do.) Then again, he's still only 23 and while he's regarded as a starting catcher by National League teams his lifetime average is only .252. We'll have to see how he does replacing Higham for an entire season.

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May 15, 1878
Boston Red Stockings (1-3) at Providence Grays (3-1)

Providence continues to have a narrow lead in the early going thanks to having taken three of four from Boston, and today they have a chance to extend that lead.

And again they didn't seem to have much trouble with the Red Stockings, who have fallen a long way from 1875 when they were the top dogs of the National Association. Boston's Ed Pinkham left the game with a shoulder injury and is expected to miss a couple weeks.

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May 18, 1878
Providence Grays (4-1) at Boston Red Stockings (1-4)

Providence, having played only struggling Boston this season, continue to hold a narrow lead in the standings over Cincinnati, who play Milwaukee today. With a win Providence will end the week in sole possession of first place, while Boston is just trying to reverse their awful start.

Boston's woes continued with another ugly loss, while Providence continued to lead the rest of the National League. Things simply aren't going well at all for the presumed contenders.

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Sunday, May 19, 1878
Standings and Leaders

Providence Grays 5-1
Cincinnati Reds 6-3
Chicago White Stockings 4-4
Indianapolis Blues 4-4
Milwaukee Cream Citys 3-6
Boston Red Stockings 1-5

It's still too early to tell anything for certain about this season, though cranks in Boston have to be getting increasingly worried.

The league leaders:

Batting Average

George Hall, Chicago - .500
Andy Leonard, Chicago - .467
Tom York, Providence - .458
Jim Holdsworth, Cincinnati - .410
Abner Dalrymple, Milwaukee - .386
John Clapp, Indianapolis - .382
Bill Craver, Cincinnati - .371

Runs Scored

Jim Holdsworth, Cincinnati - 11
George Hall, Chicago - 10
Andy Leonard, Chicago - 9
John McMullin, Cincinnati - 9
Ezra Sutton, Indianapolis - 9
3 players tied with 8 each

Runs Batted In

Ezra Sutton, Indianapolis - 11
Jimmy Wood, Milwaukee - 11
Abner Dalrymple, Milwaukee - 7
Bill Harbridge, Chicago - 7
7 players tied with 6 each

Stolen Bases

George Hall, Chicago - 6
John McMullin, Cincinnati - 6
John Clapp, Indianapolis - 5
Cap Anson, Cincinnati - 4
Paul Hines, Providence - 4
Andy Leonard, Chicago - 4
2 players tied with 3 each

Won-Loss Record

John Montgomery Ward, Providence, 5-1
Hugh O'Neil, Cincinnati, 4-2
Asa Brainard, Chicago, 3-2
Hugh Campbell, Indianapolis, 2-1
The Only Nolan, Indianapolis, 2-2
George Bradley, Cincinnati, 1-0
Jim Britt, Milwaukee, 1-0

Earned Run Average

Jim Britt, Milwaukee - 0.00
John Montgomery Ward, Providence - 1.70
Asa Brainard, Chicago - 1.85
The Only Nolan, Indianapolis - 2.18
Hugh O'Neil, Cincinnati - 2.33
George Zettlein, Indianapolis - 3.38
Harry Arundel, Chicago - 3.42

Strikeouts

Sam Weaver, Milwaukee - 33
John Montgomery Ward, Providence - 18
Hugh O'Neil, Cincinnati - 17
Bobby Mathews, Boston - 15
The Only Nolan, Indianapolis - 12
Asa Brainard, Chicago - 10
Harry Arundel, Chicago - 6